BISC 121 - Conservation Biology and Global Change Part 3 - Midterm 4
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What do ice core data and direct measurements show?
CO₂ levels now the highest on record
Where are ongoing CO₂ measurements taken?
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
What was the CO₂ level as of 25 November 2025?
Still rising (passed 426 ppm)
What gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?
CO₂, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide
What do these gases absorb?
Infrared radiation
What does the greenhouse effect do?
Keeps Earth’s surface at a habitable temperature
What is magnifying the greenhouse effect?
Increased levels of atmospheric CO₂ from human activity
What percentage of scientists agree anthropogenic greenhouse gases are causing warming and climate change?
97%
Where are the strongest warming effects already observable?
Northern coniferous forests, tundra, and polar sea ice
What else besides warming is changing?
Wind and precipitation patterns
What phenomenon is cited as an example?
Shifts in the “polar vortex” (more frequent disruptions and wobbles, are increasingly linked to climate change, especially rapid Arctic warming, which weakens the jet stream, allowing frigid polar air to plunge south into North America, Europe, and Asia, causing extreme winter weather even as the planet warms overall)
How hot was 2024 compared to other years?
Hottest year on record
How many of the hottest years on record occurred this century?
23 of the 24 hottest years
What events are becoming more frequent?
Billion-dollar climate-related disasters
What is happening to Arctic sea ice?
Record low levels
What does NASA/NSIDC confirm for 2025?
Winter sea ice at record low
What warning is given about misinformation?
Internet is flooded with phony or biased graphs and data about global warming
Who often produces such misinformation?
“Think tanks” tasked with yielding doubt
What vetted sources are recommended?
IPCC and National Academy of Sciences
What book documents organized climate misinformation?
“Merchants of Doubt” by Oreskes and Conway
How can global warming be slowed?
Reducing energy needs, reversing deforestation, habitat and soil restoration, converting to renewable energy (wind, solar)
What kind of sequestration has significant potential?
Sequestration of C in biomass and soil
Which sequestration plans have serious environmental consequences?
Some ocean sequestration plans
What concerns exist about underground sequestration?
Long-term leakage
What social changes are considered highly cost-effective solutions?
Changing attitudes, reducing the growth rate of the human population, moving toward a steady-state economy
What international agreement began limiting carbon release between the US and China?
A 2014 agreement
What major climate agreement was signed in 2016?
Paris Accord
What did the Paris Accord aim to do?
Keep temperature increases below 2°C
What did Trump do regarding the Paris Accord?
Pulled the U.S. out
What did Biden do?
Put the U.S. back in
What happened next?
Trump took the U.S. out again
What did COP26 pledge in 2021?
Accelerate progress, reverse deforestation, reduce methane emissions by 2030
Have most countries met pledges?
No
What do many CO₂ plans rely on?
Assumption that future generations will solve problems we are causing
Why is this criticized?
We are demanding future generations sacrifice without a choice
Is there scientific debate about ocean acidification?
No
How does increasing atmospheric CO₂ affect ocean pH?
Decreases pH in a predictable way
What does low pH do to marine organisms?
Dissolves calcium carbonate shells
What organisms are at risk?
Corals and many molluscs
What would a similar pH drop do to humans?
Be lethal
Why do climate change deniers ignore ocean acidification?
There is no good argument against it
How can acidification be solved?
Reducing CO₂ emissions
What CO₂ stabilization level is needed to avoid catastrophic effects?
About 450 ppm
What are current levels?
Now >420 ppm and rising fast
When might 450 ppm be passed?
Before 2050 depending on global action
What does the fossil record show about current pH changes?
They are occurring incredibly fast, to levels not seen in many million years
What is required each year regarding action?
Every year of delaying action is critical
What protects life from UV radiation?
A protective layer of ozone molecules in the atmosphere
When did ozone thinning begin?
Since 1975
What common misconception exists?
Confusing ozone depletion with global warming
What pollutants destroy ozone?
Chlorine-releasing pollutants such as CFCs
What was the Nobel Prize–winning discovery?
Connection between CFCs and ozone destruction
Where does the “ozone hole” occur?
Antarctic spring
Why does it occur in spring?
Catalysis occurs on nitric acid clouds that form in winter but require light to melt and activate them
When was the ozone hole first described?
1984
What happened afterward?
It increased in size, then leveled out
What do the colors in ozone maps represent?
Blue/purple = least ozone, orange/red = most
What damage does ozone depletion cause?
DNA damage in plants, reduced phytoplankton growth, damage to animals including humans (skin cancer, etc.)
What international agreement reduced CFC production?
Montreal Protocol (1987)
What did this treaty accomplish regarding global warming?
Prevented about 0.2°C of warming
Why is further action needed?
HFC replacements also have global warming potential
What agreement was reached in October 2016?
Agreement to replace HFCs, expected to reduce future warming by about 0.5°C